Indian shopping and retail mgmt technology set to leapfrog: experts

The Indian market is currently about s6% organised and the rest was independent. (Reuters)

SummaryThe Indian market is currently about s6% organised and the rest was independent.

Indian shopping and retail management technology will leapfrog in the coming three years, especially with the increasing usage of mobile and smart phones, says an expert.

The tech-savvy retailers would upgrade to use the latest technologies as an advantage in marketing products and operating cost effectively, according to Anand J Mehta,

Director of Retail for Asia Pacific at the Motorola Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd.

Motorola was already working on tailor-made solutions for the Indian market and diverse Indian retailers, he said on the sidelines of the two-day World Retail Congress Asia Pacific, which opened today.

"All of the technology is in place and it is the work in progress. It is a good time the way the retail industry is maturing, and actually for India, to leap-frog the whole technology solutions," Mehta said.

Mehta expected explosive growths in the consumer-driven Indian retail market, patronised by over 400 million Indians with high purchasing power which is growing

He cited Images Retail Intelligence Services recent data showing a 26.8 per cent growth in India's modern retail in 2010.

Elaborating, he said the Indian retail industry was still in early to mid-stages of maturity.

The Indian market was currently about six per cent organised and the rest was independent, he said.

But he stressed that the Indian retail sector would mature in 10-15 years when compared to the United States which took 60-70 years.

"The Indian market's consumer and cultural diversity is huge. But it is already well into its journey [to maturity]," observed Mehta.

Motorola has a wide range of solutions and experiences in managing inventories, supply chains, retailing and customer-connectivity.

"We also want to be in touch with the consumer," added Mehta, pointing to the immediate need for catering to the large number of Indian consumers.

More than 500 global retail leaders are attending the two-day congress in Singapore.